The Acts of Convention

Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop be asked to appoint a special committee to study and make recommendations concerning the ecumenical and ecclesiological considerations involved in the election and ordination of women Presbyters to the Episcopate; and be it further

Resolved, That the special committee be encouraged to draw upon the resources of the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations and upon other clergy and laity; and be it further

Resolved, That the results of the study be considered by the House of Bishops at its 1987 meeting; and be it further

Resolved, That the results of the study, if approved by the House of Bishops, be made a part of the House of Bishops' report to the 1988 Lambeth Conference, and that the results of the study be shared with the Standing Committees of the several dioceses of the Church; and be it further

Resolved, That the explanations listed below be printed with the Resolution.

EXPLANATION

1. The resolution is not meant to imply that there are canonical impediments to the ordination of a woman Presbyter to the Episcopate; the canonical question was decided at the 1976 General Convention.
2. Nor is the study intended to suggest a reconsideration of theological issues already dealt with in preparation for and at the 1976 General Convention; the scope of the proposed study is a limited one: namely, as the title of the resolution indicates, the scope of the proposed study is limited to ecumenical and ecclesiological considerations involved in ordaining women Presbyters to the Episcopate.
3. The resolution calls for a study, in order that the Church (and especially the Bishops and Standing Committees, which must give consent to the Consecration of a Presbyter elected to the office of Bishop) may prayerfully and unhurriedly reflect upon whatever ecumenical and ecclesiological consideration there may be.
4. The study is, in part, a response to a 1978 advisory resolution of the Lambeth Conference of Bishops, requesting prior consultation by any Province of the Anglican Communion considering the election and ordination of a woman Presbyter to the Episcopate; and the study is also intended to be a resource to Standing Committees.